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The Qing dynasty
- Manchu: daicing gurun
- Chinese: 清朝
- pinyin: qīng cháo
- Wade-Giles: Ch'ing dynasty
- officially, Empire of the Great Qing (大淸帝國)
- also called the Manchu dynasty
The Qing dynasty (1636-1912) was
founded by a Manchu clan, the Aisin
Gioro, in what is today northeast China, and went on to extend its control over the
Chinese provinces of the Ming dynasty and surrounding territories. It was
the last imperial dynasty of China, its
emperors occupying the Forbidden City of their capital, Beijing, from 1644 until 1912, when, in the aftermath of the 1911 revolution, the last emperor
abdicated and a new Republic of China was established.
Overview
The Qing dynasty was the last imperial
dynasty of China. It was founded not by the Han Chinese people who form
the overwhelming majority of the population of China proper, but by the
Manchus, a semi-nomadic people not even known by that name when they first rose to
prominence in what is now northeastern China. Taking advantage of the political instability and popular rebellions convulsing the
Ming dynasty, the highly organized military forces of the Manchus swept
into the Ming capital of Beijing in 1644, and
there remained until the Qing dynasty was overthrown in a revolution in 1911, with the last emperor abdicating early in
1912.
The 268 years of Qing dynasty China saw glorious successes, humiliating defeats, and profound changes to virtually all aspects
of life. Today's China has in many ways been shaped by these experiences. The consolidation of Qing power was accompanied by
territorial expansion, and the borders of modern China largely reflect successful Qing military campaigns. The incorporation of
new lands and peoples required careful handling, and Manchu experience of nomadic culture and a willingness to adopt different
postures toward different groups such as Mongols and Tibetans enhanced Qing diplomatic effectiveness. The seeds of the huge
population increase were perhaps sown during the stability of the first 200 years of Qing rule, with its economic expansion, the
opening up of new land for cultivation, and the spread of certain crops that were able to grow in poor quality soil. Many great
works of art and literature originated during the period and the Qianlong emperor in particular undertook huge projects to preserve important cultural texts. The
novel form became widely read and perhaps China's most famous novel, Dream of the Red Chamber, was written in the mid-eighteenth century. The Taiping Rebellion in the mid-nineteenth century was the first major
instance of anti-Manchu sentiment threatening the stability of the Qing dynasty, a phenomenon that would only increase in the
following years. However, the horrific number of casualties of this rebellion - as many as 30 million people may have died - and
the complete devastation of a huge area in the south of the country have to a large extent been overshadowed by another
significant conflict. Although not nearly as bloody, the outside world and its ideas and technologies had a tremendous and
ultimately revolutionary impact on an increasingly weak and uncertain Qing state.
The collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1912 brought an end to over 2000 years of imperial
history in China and began an extended period of instability, not just at the national level but in many areas of peoples' lives.
Obvious political and economic backwardness combined with widespread criticism of Chinese culture led to questioning and doubt
about the future. China's turbulent history since the overthrow of the Qing may be understood at least in part as an attempt to
understand and recover significant aspects of historic Chinese culture and integrate them with influential new ideas that have
emerged within the last century. The Qing dynasty is the source of much of this magnificent culture, but its perceived
humiliations also provide much from which to learn.
The rise of the Manchus and the fall of the Ming
In the early 1600s Nurhaci formed the nomadic Manchu state. He united four of the Manchu Flagged Factions and in 1616 split those four Manchu "Banners" into eight. In the later periods of his reign, he moved the capital to
Shenyang (Manchu:
Mukden).
When Lingdan Khan, the last
grand-Khan of the Mongols, died on his way to Tibet in 1634, his son Ejei surrendered to
the Manchus and gave the great seal of the Yuan Emperor to Hong Taiji. As a result, Hong Taiji established the new dynasty of Qing as the
successor of the Yuan Dynasty in 1636.
After years of civil unrest, the Ming capital Beijing was sacked by a coalition of
rebel forces led by Li Zicheng. The Ming dynasty officially came to an end when
the last Ming emperor committed suicide by
hanging himself on a tree on the hill overlooking the Forbidden City.
After taking Beijing in April 1644, Li Zicheng led an army of 60,000 strong to confront Wu Sangui, the general commanding the Ming's 100,000 strong garrison stationed at Shanhaiguan (山海关). Shanhaiguan is the pivotal northeastern pass of the Great Wall of China located fify miles northeast of Beijing and for
years its defenses were what kept the Manchus at bay and out of China. Wu caught between two enemies decided to cast his lots
with the Manchus and made an alliance with Dorgon, regent to the then six-year old Shunzhi, son of Hong Taiji who had passed away
the year before.
Together the two armies met Li Zicheng's rebel forces in battle on May 27, 1644. Even though the rebel forces were routed,
Wu's army was so weakened by the day's fighting that he had no choice but to join the Manchus forces as they captured Beijing on
June 6 and began their conquest of the whole of China. The process took another seventeen years of battling Ming loyalists,
pretenders and rebels. The last Ming pretender Prince Gui sort refuge in Burma but was turned over to a Qing expeditionary force
headed by Wu Sangui who had him brought back to Yunnan province and executed in early
1662.
Kangxi and Consolidation
During the early years of his reign, Kangxi (r. 1662 - 1722) was largely aided by his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager, Xiaozhuang.
The Manchus found controlling their newly won empire a daunting task. The vastness of China's territory meant that there were
only enough banner troops to garrison key cities forming the backbone of a defence network that relied heavily on surrendered
Ming soldiers.
In addition, three surrendered Ming generals were singled out for their contributions to the Qing imperial cause, ennobled as
feudal princes (藩王), and given governorships over vast territories in Southern China. The chief of whom was
Wu Sangui who was given the provinces Yunnan, and Guizhou. While generals Shang Kexi (尚可喜) and Geng Zhongming (耿仲明) were given Guangdong and Fujian provinces respectively.
As the years went by, these princes and their territories became increasingly autonomous from the central government. Finally
in 1673 Shang Kexi petitioned the Kangxi emperor stating his desire to retire to his home town in Liaodong (辽东)
province and nominated his son in place for succession. The young Kangxi emperor granted his retirement but denied the hereditary
of his fief. In reaction, the two other generals decided to petition for their own retirements to test Kangxi's resolve thinking
that he wouldn't risk offending them. The move backfried as the young emperor called their bluff by accepting their requests and
ordered all three feudatories to be revert back to the crown.
Faced with the stripping of their powers, Wu Sangui felt he had no choice but to revolt. He was later joined by Di Zhongming
and Shang Kexi's son Shang Zhixin (尚之信). The ensuing rebellion lasted for eight years. At the peak of the
rebels' fortunes, they managed to extend their territories to as far north as the river Changjiang (长江). But
ultimately, the Qing government was able to put down the rebellion and exert control over all of southern China.
Kangxi personally led China to a series of
military campaigned against Tibet, the Zunghars, and later Russia. He arranged the marriage of his daughter to the Khan Gordhun to avoid an invasion. By the end of the
17th century China was at its highest point of power since the early
Yuan Dynasty.
Taiwan was also taken by Qing forces in 1683
from Zheng Chenggong's son, Zheng Jing; the former had conquered it from
the Dutch.
Kangxi had also handled many Jesuit Missionaries that have come to China in hope for
mass conversion. Although that attempt had failed Kangxi still peacefully kept the missionaries in Beijing.
Civil Order and the recognition by the people of the Qing was the biggest agenda on Kangxi's mind.
The Yongzheng & Qianlong emperors
Yongzheng (r. 1723 - 1735) and his son Qianlong (r. 1735 - 1796) and their reigns were at the height of Qing power.
After Kangxi's death in the winter of 1722, his fourth son, Yinzhen (later to be known as Emperor Yongzheng) succeeded.
Yongzheng remained a controversial character because of rumours about him usurping the throne. Nonetheless Yongzheng was a very
hardworking ruler. His first big step towards a stronger regime came when he brought the State Examination System back to its original standards. He was also very hard on corrupt
officials, of which many where executed or jailed duing his reign.
Yongzheng died in 1735, shortly after he ordered his third son, Hongshi, to commit
suicide. This was followed by the succession of Qianlong as emperor.
The 19th century
Qing Empire, 1892
One common view of the 19th century was that it was an era in which Qing control weakened, and prosperity diminished. China
suffered massive social strife, economic stagnation, explosive population growth, and Western penetration and influence.
Britain's desire to continue its illegal opium trade with China collided with imperial edicts prohibiting the addictive drug, and
the First Opium War erupted in 1840. China lost the war; subsequently, Britain and other Western powers, including the United
States, forcibly occupied "concessions" and gained special commercial privileges. Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842 under
the Treaty of Nanjing. In addition, the Taiping rebellion and Nian rebellions, along with a
Russian-supported Muslim independence movement in Xinjiang, drained Chinese
resources and almost toppled the dynasty. .
Roughly between the Congress of Vienna and the Franco-Prussian War, Britain reaped the benefits of being the world's
sole modern, industrial nation. Following the defeat of Napoleon, Britain was the
'workshop of the world', meaning that its finished goods were produced so efficiently and cheaply that they could often undersell
comparable, locally manufactured goods in almost any other market. If political conditions in a particular overseas markets were
stable enough, Britain could its economy through free trade alone without having to resort to formal rule or mercantilism. Britain was even supplying half the needs in manufactured goods of
such nations as Germany, France, Belgium, and the United States. As these other newly industrial powers, the United States, and
Japan after the Meiji Restoration began industrializing at a
rapid rate, however, Britain's comparative advantage in trade of any finished good began diminishing.
In this political cartoon, China is being divided up by the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, France, and Japan
Sovereign areas already hospitable to informal empire largely avoided formal rule during the shift to New Imperialism. China, for instance, was not a backward country unable to
secure the prerequisite stability and security for western-style commerce, but a highly advanced empire unwilling to admit
western (often drug-pushing) commerce, which may explain the West's contentment with informal 'Spheres of Influences'. China,
unlike tropical Africa, was a securable market without formal control. Following the First Opium War, British commerce, and later
capital invested by other newly industrializing powers, was securable with a smaller degree of formal control than in Southeast Asia, West Africa, and the Pacific. But in many respects, China was a
colony and a large-scale receptacle of Western capital investments. Western powers did intervene military there to quell domestic
chaos, such as the horrific Taiping Rebellion and the
anti-imperialist Boxer Rebellion. For example, General Gordon, later
the imperialist 'martyr' in the Sudan, is often accredited as having saved the Manchu
dynasty from the Taiping insurrection.
The fall of the Manchus
By the 1860s, the Qing dynasty had put down the rebellions with the help of militia organized by the Chinese gentry. The Qing
dynasty then proceeded to deal with problem of modernization, which it attempted with the Self-Strengthening Movement. Several modernized
armies were formed including the much renowned "Beiyang" militia; however the fleets of "Beiyang" were annihilated in the
Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), which
produced calls for greater and more extensive reform. After the start of the 20th century, the Qing Dynasty was in a dilemma. It could proceed with reform and thereby alienate the
conservative gentry or it could stall reform and thereby alienate the revolutionaries. The Qing Dynasty tried to follow a middle
path, but proceeded to alienate everyone.
In the late 19th century another leader emerged in the Qing to finally
bring the dynasty to an end. Empress Dowager Cixi, who was
the mother of child emperor Tongzhi, successfully
controlled the Qing government and was the de facto leader of China for close to 40
years.
10 years into the reign of Guangxu, western
pressure was so big on China that she forcefully gave up all sorts of power. Guangxu had attempted reform but the ideals were
stifled by Cixi and Guangxu was jailed in his own palace. Cixi, on the other hand, only concentrated on her own power and good
being. At the occasion of her 60th Birthday she spend over 30 million taels of silver for the decorations & events, an
unthinkable amount even by today's terms.
Mass civil disorder had also begun and continuously grown. Factions such as Taiping began campaigns to bring down the corrupt Qing government. Although such revolutions were unsuccessful at
first, they led to mass violence and pressure that was dismatling the central regime to a point where, finally and unexpectedly
by most, in 1911, Sun Yat-sen and his
alliance successfully brought down the powerless Qing Regime.
Qing society
Manchu males had the custom of braiding hair into a pigtail. During the Qing Dynasty, the Manchus enforced this custom onto
the Han population, and any male who was seen without pigtail outdoors was to
be beheaded.
Qing politics
The most important administrative body of the Qing dynasty was the Grand Council which was a body composed of the emperor and
high officials.
The Qing dynasty was characterized by a system of dual appointments by which each position in the central government had a
Manchu and a Han Chinese assigned to it.
With respect to Mongolia, Tibet and
Eastern Turkestan, the Qing Dynasty maintained a loose system of control, with the Qing emperor acting as Mongol Khan, patron of
Tibetan Buddhism and supporter of Muslims and keeping a loose system of control.
How this system is best described remains a strong point of controversy because of its current political implications.
Supporters of Chinese nationalism argue that Qing rule over
these areas is best described as an extremely high degree of autonomy within a single nation-state, while supporters of Tibetan independence
argue that the Qing dynasty was a personal union between many nation-states.
However, Qing policy changed with the establishment of Xinjiang province in 1884
marked the turning point of the Qing Dynasty. In response to British and Russian military action in Xinjiang and Tibet, the Qing
sent New Army units which performed remarkably well against British units.
The abdication of the Manchu Emperor, who had integrated the Empire, inevitably led to the controversy about the status of the
Qing outer territories. It was and remains the position of Mongols and Tibetan nationalists, that because they owed allegiance to the Qing monarch in a personal
capacity, that with the abdication of the Qing, they owed no allegiance to the Chinese state. This position was rejected by the
new Republic of China and subsequent People's Republic of China which have claimed that
these areas remained integral parts of China. The Western powers accepted the latter theory, largely in order to prevent a
scramble for China.
The Qing military
The development of Qing's military system can be divided into two broad periods separated by the Taiping rebellion (1850 -
64). The early Qing imperial military system was organized around the Manchu banner system developed by Nurhachi and refined by his son and successor Hong Taiji. The banner system was
supplemented by the Green Standard Army (lüyingbing|绿营兵) which outnumbered the banner troops three to one.
The Green Standard Army was made up of ethnic Han Chinese troops who had surrendered to the Manchus during their conquest of
China, and led by a mixture of Banner and Green Standard officers. Both the banner troops and Green Standard were standing
armies, paid for by central government. In addition, regional governments from provincial down to village level maintained their
own irregular local militias for police duties and disaster relieve. These militias were usually granted a small annual stipend
for part time service obligations. They received very limited military drill and were not considered combat troops.
The Banner troops consisted of separate branches divided along ethnic lines, namely Manchurian and Mongolian. There was also a
third branch of Chinese Bannermen which consisted of those who had joined the Manchus before their conquest of China. However the
Chinese bannermen were not regarded as equal to the other two branches due to their late addition to the Manchu cause, and their
ethnic Han Chinese backgrounds. After the conquest the military role of the Chinese Banner troops were quickly subsumed by the
Green Standard Army. The socio-military nature of the Banner system dictated that population within each branch and their
sub-division into eight banners were hereditary and rigid, and only under special circumstances were social movements between
banners permitted. The Green Standard Army was originally intended to be a professional volunteer force, but during the
protracted period of peace in China proper during the 18th to mid 19th century, recruits from established farming communities
dwindled. Not least hindered by Neo-Confucianism's negative stance on military carreers. In order to maintain its numbers, the
Green Standard Army began to internalize, and gradually became hereditary.
After the conquest, the approximately 200,000 strong Manchu Banner Army was evenly divided, half was designated the Forbidden
Eight Banner Army (Jinlübaqi|禁旅八旗)and stationed in Beijing. They served both as the capital's
garrison and the Qing government's main strike force. The rest of the Banner troops were distributed to guard key cities in
China. These were known as Territorial Eight Banner Army (zhufanbaqi|驻防八旗). The Manchu rulers were
aware of the Manchu's minority status, and reinforced a strict policy of racially segregating Manchus and Mongols from Han
Chinese for fear of their being assimilated by Han culture while living amongst the subjugated Han people. This policy applies
directly to the Banner garrisons most of which occupied a separate walled zone within the cities they were stationed in. In cases
where there were limitation of space such as in Qingzhou (青州), a new fortified town was purposely erected to house
the Banner garrison. Beijing being the imperial seat was made a special case. Dorgon ordered the entire Chinese population
forcibly relocated to the southern suburbs. The walled city was then portioned out to the eight Banners, each responsibled for
guarding a section of the city that surrounded the Forbidden City palace (紫禁城).
Due to their nomadic tradition, the Manchu and Mongolian Banner troops specialized in fast cavalry operations, while the
Chinese Banner troops and Green standards filled the roles of infantry, musketeers, artillery, and sappers. The policy of using
Banner troops as territorial garrison was not just to protect but more importantly to inspire awe in the Chinese populous at the
expense of the Banner troop's expetise as cavalry. As a result, after a century of peace the Territorial Banner troops had
deteriorated greatly in their combat worthiness. This is mirrored by a similar if slower decline in the Green Standard Army.
During peace time, soldiering became just a supplementary income. Soldiers and commanders alike neglected training in pursuit of
their own economic activities. When the Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850s the Qing Court found out belately that both the
Banner and Green Standard troops could no longer be counted on to put down rebellions let alone kept foreign 'barbarians' at
bay.
The Qing military forces suffered a series of disasters at the hands of the Taiping rebels cumulating in the lost of Jinling
(金陵) - present day Nanjing (南京) which resulted in the massacre of the entire Manchu population there.
Shortly there after rebel expeditionary forces penetrated as far north as the suburbs of Tianjin (天津). In
desperation the Qing court ordered a Chinese scholar Zhen Goufan (曾國藩)to reorganize the regional and village
militias (Tuanyong|团勇,Xianyong|乡勇) for defence against the Taiping rebels. The force Zhen created was
known as Xian Army (Xianjün|湘军), after the region it was raised. Xian Army was a hybrid between regional militia
and standing army. It was better trained and led than local militias, but was paid for in most parts by regional coffers and
funds its commanders could muster. Xian Army and the Huai Army (淮军) that came after it collectively called Yongying
(勇营) was built on the neo-confucian idea of troops being loyal to their immediate superiors and the area which they
were raised. This gave them, at least in the short term a high level of esprit de corp. However in the long run it
encouraged cronyism amongst the commanders and laid the seeds to Qing dynasty's eventual downfall, and to warlordism in its
wake.
By late 1800s, China had descended into a semi colonial state, even the most conservative elements in the Qing court could no
longer ignore China's military weakness in contrast to the "babarians" literally beating on its gates. The new western weaponry
such as repeating rifles and steam driven dreadnoghts battleships have rendered China's traditionally equipped armies useless.
Attempts were made to reform military institutions and to train certain units in westernized drills, tactics and weaponry. These
units were collectively called the New Model Army (Xingshilujün|新式陆军). The most successful being the
"North Sea" Army (Beiyangjün|北洋军) under the overall supervision and control of the Chinese general, future
Republic president and abortive emperor, Yuan Shikai
(袁世凯).
Qing dynasty emperors
For more information about Qing dynasty emperors, check
here.
Other notable figures
Empress Dowager Cixi
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